Thousands of commuters made their way to Marathahalli bridge on Thursday morning only to see a familiar sight of chopped trees and plants on the median.
On Wednesday night, a gang of identified persons cut nearly 24 trees on the busy Outer Ring Road (ORR), allegedly to ensure those stuck in traffic snarls can get a clearer view of a billboard near the bridge. According to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Forest Cell officials, around 10 trees were more than five years old, while the rest were recently planted trees with less than 20cm in girth.
“When we enquired, people in the area told us it could either be cut for visibility of nearby hoardings or by those pulling illegal cables over roads. But we aren’t convinced with either explanation. We are probing further,” said Taranath, Range Forest Officer of Mahadevapura Range. An FIR has been filed by the department under the Karnataka Tree Preservation Act.
Incidentally, it was earlier in March that over 17 trees were poisoned and another 13 pruned and irregularly chopped on the ORR stretch nearby to ensure a clear view of a hoarding placed there. Acid had been poured on the roots, and the trees had en masse started to wilt. The case is being heard in the Karnataka Lokayukta, with the next hearing scheduled on December 10.
Tree conservationist Vijay Nishanth believes the busy road with thousands of vehicles traversing in peak hour makes advertisement space lucrative here. “Trees block hoardings and they become the first ones to go,” he said.
